Google Pixel Slate tablet review

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Am Vor 20 Tage

Correction! They keyboard costs $259, not $159 as I said in the video.Read more: www.TechGadgetsCanada.comGet tech news on Facebook: facebook.com/techgadgetscanada/The tablet market has never had more choice, and now, the line between tablets and laptops is becoming increasingly blurry. Almost all of the major manufacturers have a tablet that also doubles as a laptop, and Google has joined the fray.This is the Google Pixel Slate - a super-portable but ultra professional full size tablet. I had a chance to spend a couple of days with it… and here’s what I learned.The 12.3” Molecular Display is a touch screen, and it gives you a tonne of screen real estate for everything from watching movies, to gaming, and to actually working, since you can maximize space or use a split screen effect to increase your productivity.

The Slate appears to come with the full G-Suite of apps installed, like Chrome browser, Gmail Docs and Photos. But on closer inspection, these are actually web shortcuts, and if you use them, they’ll take you to the online versions of these sites.If you want the real apps, you’ll need to download them via the Play store. That goes for DE-film, Gmail, Sheets, and Drive.I prefer to work directly in those apps as opposed to online, so I spent a few minutes downloading everything I needed. The Slate is made to work as either a tablet or as a laptop, and for this you’ll need the Slate Keyboard, which comes in at an additional $159 cost.The keyboard is pretty cool, though, with rounded lowercase keys-backlit, of course-and a nice quiet and soft feel. There’s shortcut keys for the home screen, to maximize a window, and to get you quick launch settings menu up. There’s also a big trackpad that’s handy and responsive too, though the clickiness does feel a bit hollow to me. The keyboard’s other key purpose is to work as a stand; and you can slide the back flap up and down to get just the right angle. It’ll stick anywhere, along the back of the tablet, so you can get the perfect viewing angle.You can also get the PixelBook pen for use on Slate. Folks who’ve used it with a Pixelbook will remember it, and now it’s available in a Midnight Blue shade tom compliment the Slate.

One aspect of the Slate that blew me away is the sound quality. Tablet speakers are notoriously tinny and often provide a soundscape that feels about as wide as a pair of chopsticks, so when I heard the sound from the Slate, it was really surprised. It sounds fulls, clear vibrant and very strong. It almost sounds like the audio is emanating from behind the screen.

You can automatically pair or tether your Pixel Slate with your Pixel phone when WiFi isn’t available; this does make using it on the go a bit more seamless… You’ll get about 12 hours of battery from the Pixel Slate. I’ve only had this for a couple days so I haven’t had a chance to try to wear it down. I have not yet has the chance to review or get hands on with a Microsoft Surface product, so I can’t compare this to that. But in reading up on each of their specs, the Slate has more pixels in the screen, they have a similar battery life. There’s no headphone jack on the Slate, but there is on the Surface Pro 6. Some reviewers have crowned the Surface Pro 6 the winner when it comes to power and speed, but again, I’ve not tried it, so I’ll pass on weighing in there.This tablet would be idea for a commuter who might want to read news via Wi-Fi on the tablet during ride into work, then click on that keyboard and get down to business.

When it comes to price, a surface Pro 6 starts at $1179 in Canada, and the iPad Pro starts at 1249 for the 12” size. That puts the Pixel Slate’s $849 starting price within much better reach for people looking to buy something in this market. It goes up to about $2000 CAD for the top end model.The battery life is impressive, and the sound quality is going to blow away all those other restaurant diners if you’re the type that likes to play your content on high volume in public places. I’m still working through the downsides…. Maybe the weight and the size, just for me.. but that’s hardly a complaint for the masses, because if you’re wanting a full size tablet you’re definitely getting what you pay for with the Slate. Check back with me in a couple of weeks to see what else I’ve learned. Like the Facebook page for updates….

KOMMENTARE

phil Walton

I find it funny that when Samsung brought out the spen to phones and tablets everybody laughed. Now look there all at it!

Vor 8 Tage

Debra Dukes

Erin New to your channel. Excellent review and just answered all the questions I wanted to know I need to go and check it out for myself in person. I know the Surface is really nice and I have seen the display absolutely sharp but I think I would love to see this for myself. The Build quality looks awesome very solid and the Sound was truly great just now actually quite shocked with the sound. Thanks so much and will be back to see more. I also know that they have another keyboard but this one looks nice too. Thanks so much for sharing Deb.👍✌👌

Vor 11 Tage

Debra Dukes

+Erin Lawrence No problem glad I subbed

Vor 11 Tage

Erin Lawrence

Thanks so much for the kind words, Deb, and for watching!

Vor 11 Tage

I'm on Google

From childhood we got used to running windows.

Vor 13 Tage

I'm on Google

Chromebook, chromium os, pixel slate and this are same but different Artitecture and model and capacity. Cloud Ready

Vor 13 Tage

Sean Godsell

Do you try out any Android apps? Or better yet any Linux programs?

Vor 14 Tage

Erin Lawrence

I didn't yet. Any recommendations?

Vor 13 Tage

6maxwell99

I just can't bring myself to spend money on a Chrome browser.

Vor 14 Tage

matthew s

a progressive web app Today, (6 April 2017) we are rolling out Twitter Lite, a new mobile web experience which minimizes data usage, loads quickly on slower connections, is resilient on unreliable mobile networks, and takes up less than 1MB on your device. Starting today, Twitter Lite is available globally by visiting mobile.twitter.com on your smartphone or tablet. You can find more information about Twitter Lite at lite.twitter.com. http://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/product/2017/introducing-twitter-lite.html

Sean C.

Erin Lawrence

Fatoba Michael

matthew s

-- you might try this feature, do you need that keyboard? chrome settings >> Accessibility Enable dictation (speak to type) Send your voice to Google to allow dictation into any text field. [ on ]

Vor 16 Tage

matthew s

apps & apps - confusion reigns ... History... APPS were written for phones as there browsers were to weak to render web pages. CHROME OS, is an extension to CHROME browser to provide the bare minimum so it JUST renders pages as an OS, not much else. most of Google services are WEB based, which is why the chrome browser and OS came about.

Vor 16 Tage

Luis Burciaga

I got mine a few days ago I love it

Vor 17 Tage

Luis Burciaga

If you have a chrome devices use web versions of the gsuite things. Web version are usually better than the app versions

Vor 17 Tage

Erin Lawrence

Thanks for the feedback Luis.

Vor 16 Tage

Michael Bodo

Nice overall review, but one of the key features of the Google Pixel Slate, that you barely gave so much as a passing mention to, is the fact that it can run Android apps. This is a HUGE plus for Android phone users, as all of your phone apps will download seamlessly and easily once you login and authorize the apps you want downloaded and installed on the Slate from the Google Play Store. Granted, many Android apps aren't optimized for scaling on a large screen, as you have with the Pixel Slate and render poorly. However, many are scalable on the device with more surely to be optimized in the future. The ability to multi-task and quickly switch between Android and Chrome OS apps wasn't even brought up or demonstrated. This was a big oversight and something you should include in any follow-up video, as this feature is important to business users who are weighing buying this device to say a Surface Pro 6 or iPad Pro. In summary, I feel as though you rushed to get this review edited and published without having spent sufficient time with the product in order to be one of the first on YouTube to review it. That said, I like your delivery style and the fact that you're easy on the eyes doesn't hurt. ;-) I will definitely check back for future reviews and wish you and your channel he best of success!

Vor 17 Tage

Erin Lawrence

Thanks for the very thoughtful comments Michael. And for watching.

Vor 16 Tage

Daniel Park

Hey Erin! nice video ! much better than Ijustin :) btw which product do you prefer between surface pro 6 and Google ?

Vor 17 Tage

P. Wingert

A couple of key issues: The Slate is more expensive then the Pixel book, there is no magnetic attachment for pen to the keyboard and the keyboard suffers from unacceptable flex leading to a false clicking of the touchpad when not used on a solid surface.The keyboard also slides around when the tablet is closed having neither magnetic attachment or sufficient friction with the table surface to keep it in place when being carried. Tis is a critical issue that both the surface 6 and surface book 2 engineer to give a sold feel when being held in closed mode.. This led to another reviewer dropping the unit on one occasion and nearly cracking the screen. This is a fatal flaw. Also there is an issue with Jitter when moving windows around. These have all been mentioned in other reviews There is also a question of why on a $600 tablet the keyboard ($199) is 30% of the price of the tablet itself! The keyboard by Bridge is a better alternative but still very expensive and adds even more weight to this device. The combined unit weighs similarly to a T61 laptop from 5 years ago! While your review is informative it needs to be a more hands on review to illustrate the issues highlighted above to provide real value for your audience that is considering this unit. In my case the case cover issue, very high price (Even compared to the pixel) , and jitter issues are deal killers for me and I am now waiting to see the next revision of this unit. The surface book 2 is currently on my consideration list as an alternative. It is a closer match to the slate then the surface 6. I lookforward to a more indepth review where you can discuss these issues with your audience.

Vor 18 Tage

Luis Burciaga

P. Wingert theres magnets on the back of the folio case. I keep my pen there and it keeps it in place. Sure it's not as good as the iPads , but it's still there and works fine. I can agree with what you said about the rest of the problems with the folio case

Vor 17 Tage

Erin Lawrence

Thanks for the very detailed feedback. And thanks for watching.

Vor 18 Tage

Tim Rw

At first I thought that the absence of a headphone jack would be a deal breaker for me but then I read that it supports audio using Bluetooth and USB, so headphones can be used while commuting.

Vor 18 Tage

P. Wingert

Tim Rw Bluetooth can be temperamental. My Dell XPS Bluetooth failed under warranty and they came out and replaced the entire MB since it was soldered on. But even now I have issues when I connect the speakers to Alexa and go to connect back the Bluetooth won’t connect and it will immediately disconnect then disconnect but remain paired have no idea what’s going on there. After a few days if I remove from the de ice list it will finally discover and pair. But only after a few days and a full cold boot. I think it might be a windows issue.

Erin Lawrence

Hafez Selim

P. Wingert

The size is good for media viewing, document reading and spreadsheet work but not when it makes it as heavy as a Lenovo t^1 laptop from 5 years ago.

Vor 18 Tage

M tO

Agreed. But the thing is this is supposed to be a notebook with a tablet feature. 10 inch is not big enough for notebooks.

Vor 19 Tage

Paul T Sjordal

It's very heavy if you leave the keyboard attached. :D :P

Vor 20 Tage

Erin Lawrence

Very true!

Vor 19 Tage

Gary Page

Hi Erin, I have watched a few reviews on the pixel slate and yours is by far the best. Thank you for doing such a good job.

Vor 20 Tage

Erin Lawrence

Oh gosh, Gary. Thank you so much for saying that. You made my day

Vor 19 Tage

asdfLuigiGamer

*_Google Pixel Slave_*

Vor 20 Tage

Abhishek Mehta

can not compated ipad pro 2018

Vor 20 Tage

Fei He

iPad Pro 2018 is still an iPad, but the Pixel Slate is a laptop. Disappointed with 2018 iPad Pro for still no mouse support, ordered a Pixel Slate

Vor 17 Tage

Terence Beebe

thanks for the review! I have the pixelbook so I will stick with what I got.

Vor 20 Tage

Erin Lawrence

Thanks for watching Terence!

Vor 19 Tage

Ron M

Thanks Erin. Great review. Very thorough.

Vor 20 Tage

Erin Lawrence

Thanks so much Ron!

Vor 19 Tage

Alex McCaffrey

Is there any major difference between the YouTube, Drive, Photos Android apps and Web Apps? The scope of what they do on both is pretty limited. Are you gaining much using the Android apps of these? In the case of Gmail and Docs the Web Apps are much more powerful, especially Gmail. You wouldn't want to be using the cut down Andros app when you have the full Gmail website. Thanks

Vor 20 Tage

P. Wingert

Alex McCaffrey The main issue is if you don’t have an internet connection you can’t use the online apps. I have issues when I am at meetings but am not allowed to connect to the company’s internet connection. I have to have local copies for this situation.

Vor 18 Tage

Erin Lawrence

I’ll have to play with them a bit more and let you know. Good question.

Vor 19 Tage

E P

I’ll stick to my iPad, nice video by the way Erin

Vor 20 Tage

Erin Lawrence

Thank you so much for the compliment!

Vor 19 Tage

Bryan Miller

Way too much money

Vor 20 Tage

P. Wingert

THe sheep look up just as the farmer wings the ax towards thier necks.

Vor 18 Tage

Joey Numbers

The web apps are the real apps in Chrome OS! ;]

Vor 20 Tage

Anthony Ginczycki

So this does not beat the Ipad Pro?

Vor 20 Tage

Civilian Expunged

+Erin Lawrence The performance of the Ipad Pro and build quality is impressive, but wasted on IOS. The selling point on chromebooks, for me, is that I can run all of my linux apps like a full fledged desktop/laptop OS - the fact I can run android apps alongside those is just a bonus.

Vor 19 Tage

Erin Lawrence

I think it totally depends on which ecosystem you preferred to live in. If you’ve got everything Apple it wouldn’t make sense to get this tablet. But if you’re doing the Google and android thing, it’s a natural.

Vor 19 Tage

Brandan Holder

Chemical Brothers! Awesome! You instantly became cool just for that and your professional review is impressive. Subscribing! Looking forward to seeing you grow.

Vor 20 Tage

Erin Lawrence

Haha. YAy! Thanks Brandan!

Vor 19 Tage

Krishna

Neat and clean review. Google products are sweet.

Vor 20 Tage

Erin Lawrence

Thank you for the compliment!

Vor 19 Tage

ajay rockxxx

Could you please review on pen latency on pixel slate. heard that its slower than ipad pro.

Vor 20 Tage

Erin Lawrence

I can dig a little deeper. With the limited testing I did it seemed pretty good.

Vor 19 Tage

Mayank Gupta

You should try using surface pro 6!

Vor 20 Tage

P. Wingert

I think the surface book 2 is a closer match

Vor 18 Tage

Erin Lawrence

I probably should! Haven’t tried a single Microsoft product yet on the channel.

Vor 19 Tage

Jesse Stevenson

Thank you Erin! Looking beautiful as always :) I have the Pixelbook and am very happy with it, so I will likely pass on the Pixel Slate. Thank you for the review though!

Vor 20 Tage

Jesse Stevenson

+Erin Lawrence Hi Erin, Yes it is! It was a bit of a rocky start when I purchased it last year, as you may remember. However, Google has since made the appropriate fixes through updates and I am now thoroughly convinced that it is the best laptop on the market. This Pixel Slate looks amazing, however I do not plan to replace my Pixelbook for at least another 4 years. It is even FASTER NOW than the day I got it and I have not had to do any maintenance on it at all.

Vor 19 Tage

Erin Lawrence

Hi Jessie, great to hear from you. The PixelBook is still treating you well, is it?

Vor 19 Tage

David Dawson

You provided some information on the Slate that the other YouTube channels did not provide. Thank you.

Vor 20 Tage

Erin Lawrence

I’m so glad to hear that, David. Thank you very much for the compliment.

Vor 19 Tage

Don Dimi de la Vega

A very balanced and honest review! I look forward to your further experiences with this hybrid device.

Vor 20 Tage

Erin Lawrence

Haha. Thanks Don!!

Vor 19 Tage

Sara Vincent

Its cpu this is the bang bang

Vor 20 Tage

thelastmike

Oh - you had me interested when you said the keyboard was $159 Canadian as that's only about $120 US. I was looking for where I could buy it in Canada only to find the price was $259 Canadian. ;-(

Vor 20 Tage

P. Wingert

@Erin Lawrence In Canada this whole unit with a Bridge keyboard is going to be close to $2000. Way way too much for this unit. I can get a Dell XPS 13 for $1745 total with tax, gst and shipping and its performance is much much better, its half the weight with bette battery life. So the google slate just makes no sense. Another miss just like Apple. The companies seem to think that consumers are rich and stupid. They assume that thee devices will be picked up by large enterprise users and so they ignore the retail consumer market figure that wee will be like sheep and pay whatever they ask for the dog food they offer.

Vor 18 Tage

Erin Lawrence

thelastmike

To say it is larger and more awkward than your current tablet doesn't give me much information since I don't know what your current tablet is. It is heavier than the new 12.9 ipad pro but we are only talking a few ounces.

Erin Lawrence

Pete Ward

fightnight14

But its not a waste

Vor 19 Tage

Jonathan M

The amount of effort and work you put into these videos is amazing, very informative and clear however there was a section where you played music from the table while speaking and the music distracted me from the content that was being said, next time just lower the music volume over the voice over. Great work!

Vor 20 Tage

Erin Lawrence

Wow, Jonathan. Thank you so much for the compliment. I get what you’re saying about the music, but I wanted people to hear how strong it could be. I’ll lower the volume a bit next time!